


chikai

by overfireandwater



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Childhood Friends, Dreams and Nightmares, F/M, Guilt, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:02:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25577752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/overfireandwater/pseuds/overfireandwater
Summary: After Cloud breaks his promise to Tifa, he distances himself from her and believes that he doesn't deserve a life of happiness.Even in the afterlife, his friends are there to talk some sense into him.
Relationships: Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife
Comments: 1
Kudos: 19





	1. prologue

The last thing that went through Cloud’s mind as they fell was the memory of him and Tifa sitting on the water tower under the Nibelheim sky. 

It was years ago, but it was a memory engraved that he played over and over during those years that they were apart from each other. It was safe to say that the thought of her was something that kept him going through the unbearable days of training that seemed to blur into each other. While his childhood memories slowly started to fade into the back of his mind, that particular memory was always one that he could recall as if it were just the day before.  
She showed up in that new seafoam green dress that she kept talking for the past few days before he broke the news to her, taking his breath away before they had even spoken a word to each other. Cloud was somewhat embarrassed at the fact that he remembered such an insignificant tidbit, but the kid hung on every single word she said. As emotionally inept as he was, it didn't take much for him to realize that his feelings towards her weren't just platonic. Timing was a funny thing; when he realized that he wanted to be with her, it was at the same time that he had decided what he wanted to do with his life. 

When she finally met his gaze, he was quick to turn away from her. He hated the fact that every time that they were together he could feel heat rush to his cheeks and was followed after a rosy pink shade that the other boys liked to poke fun at. It wasn't as if he was the only one who reacted the same way when she walked into a room, but he was the only one that she had ever given the time of day to.  
He acted as if he didn't notice the look of disappointment when he informed her of his plans to leave for Midgar and become a SOLDIER. He had expected her to be elated and proud of him . They had become close friends - best friends even - and Tifa didn't want to think about how life would be without him as her next-door neighbor. Although her other friends questioned their friendship and her father was adamant that he wasn't a good influence on her, she found herself drawn to the boy as if Gaia itself pulled her to him.   
What Cloud hadn't counted on was that Tifa had dolled herself up in her best outfit and spent a decent amount of time rehearsing what she would say if he were to confess that he reciprocated her feelings.  
When he had thrown a pebble at her window a few hours before, asking her to meet her at the water tower she had thought that maybe he would confess that he had some kind of crush on her.   
At least that was what Tifa had assumed and she had fully intended on confessing her true feelings to him in return.   
And while unbeknownst to her, Cloud wanted nothing more than to be with her. But before their relationship could blossom into anything, he had to become someone she could be proud of. 

Little did he know, she was already proud of him. She admired his tenacity and the fact that he wouldn’t take shit from any of the other kids, even though they tended to give him a difficult time about anything and everything.   
He didn’t have to change anything about himself; she had already fallen for him.

Had his younger self known that maybe he wouldn’t have left Nibelheim at all.

They could have lived their lives as normal teenagers alongside each other, falling in love along the way. Nibelheim would still be standing and they would have built a completely normal life together, surrounded by their loved ones and completely in blissful ignorance about the evils right under their noses.

Instead, the two were running for their lives from a seemingly endless amount of Shinra soldiers that would most likely kill them before the bomb they had planted would detonate.  
The barrage of bullets that flew past them was endless and drove them in the opposite direction of where they were supposed to meet the others. They had lost them for a moment as they climbed up the last flight of stairs, allowing Cloud a moment to figure out their next move.

As they neared toward the end of the rooftop, Tifa clutched at her chest and attempted to catch her breath. it was clear to him that there was no safe way off the building. The soldiers had already made their way up the staircase and were rushing towards them and there were much too many of them for the exhausted pair to power through.

Cloud grabbed Tifa’s hand and pulled her behind a pillar, temporarily shielding them from the storm of bullets flying in their direction.   
The ex-SOLDIER looked down for a platform that they could make it to with the little amount of stamina and time they had left. The footsteps of the soldiers came just as Cloud had found a route that they could take down to the meeting point.

“We need to jump.” 

Tifa’s eyes widened and the grip on his hand tightened in a way that had they not been running on a high of adrenaline, would probably hurt. It was a gamble at best and suicide at worst. With every second she hesitated, the Shinra headquarters would collapse on itself taking everyone down with them, including the pair. Of course, Tifa was well aware of this but it didn’t make it any less frightening.

“I-I can't..."

He cupped her face in his gloved hands, calming her down almost immediately. Despite the fact they were in a literal life or death situation, he took the time to assure that she was calm even in the predicament that they found themselves in. He gave her a second to take a deep breath, even when the footsteps came closer. 

“I’m getting you out of here alive. But you need to trust me on this, okay?”

Without any semblance of hesitation, Tifa nodded her head vigorously and allowed Cloud to take her by the hand and throw them off what was left of the building that they had helped destroy. 

Cloud had accepted the likely possibility of his death but at least he would have died knowing that he kept his promise. Plus, Shinra was now a non-existent threat, with all of its leaders long gone. Whether he lived or died, she would never have to worry about them threatening her way of life ever again. 

Although the jump lasted for mere seconds, it felt like an eternity in both of their minds. He could hardly believe it when he felt solid ground beneath his boots. 

They made it.  
Now all they had to do was-

“Cloud…” Tifa’s voice was hardly audible over the sound of Shinra's headquarters imploding on itself.  
She clutched her shoulder and cried in pain as Cloud ran to her, catching her before she fell into herself. The pain was a burning sensation that immobilized her much to the point that she couldn't speak.   
The rubble underneath them was painted a shade of scarlet red that Cloud had seen too much of in his years of living.

As he prayed to every higher power that he could think of to let her live, her words from that last night they spent together haunted him like the memories of every friend that they had lost along the way.

“Promise you’ll come and save me.”   
____

 _Some kind of hero you turned out to be._   
He thought to himself as he watched Barret examine Tifa’s wound.  
Everything that had happened afterwards was a blur until he had caught sight of their friends and the Highwind, rushed over to Barret and begged him to help Tifa.   
Even though he found minor relief in the fact Tifa’s wound was minor and at worst, would leave a minor scar, guilt had infected every thought that crossed his mind. 

_What could I have done differently?  
It should have been me. _

He had always carried a heavy conscience in his heart after everything that he had been through, the weight becoming more unbearable as the reality sunk into him that she could have died because of his own recklessness despite the fact that there was literally no other choice besides dying.

Cloud’s eyes jumped back up to Tifa when she winced in pain as Barret pressed a gauze pad onto her shoulder before wrapping it neatly.   
The ex-mercenary wondered how she could still smile through the burning pain of her wound. He was quick to hang his head low and shoot his stare back down to his boots that were stained red.

"A few inches over and it might've killed ya. You're lucky SOLDIER boy was there." 

While Tifa thanked Cloud for yet again coming to her rescue, his thoughts distracted him from the present moment. Their friends hailed him as a hero, getting both himself and her out in one piece, more or less.

But that wasn't how he saw it and it wasn’t long before he realized that he was the reason for every horrible thing that had happened to his friends.   
Tifa wouldn’t have been put in danger if he just did what he was supposed to do and protect her.   
Aerith, Zack, and maybe even Jessie would still be alive if he came a minute sooner or thought up of a different plan.

When he imagined what his life would be like after everything went back to normal, he could see himself finally being happy. He would confess to Tifa his true feelings and they would live happily ever after in a house away from the city. If she wanted to have kids, they’d have one or two; a boy and a girl.  
How stupid he was to allow himself to think that would ever happen or that he would ever be deserving of such a happy ending.  
It became quite clear to him that If he wanted to protect Tifa, he needed to push her away as much as he could no matter how painful it would be.

___

Although Cloud was sure that keeping his distance from the bartender was what was best for her, it proved to be difficult to actually follow through. 

She wasted no time in making her plans for her new bar once they had relocated to the city of Edge and recruited Cloud and the others to help.   
Of course, that was yet another promise that he made to her and he wouldn’t have thought of breaking yet another one.  
Besides that, he made it a priority to keep his distance and she noticed it rather quickly. He took a side job with Cid delivering mechanical parts to other towns, taking him far and away for days at a time. When Tifa’s bar opened, its popularity skyrocketed, forcing Tifa into long hours and overnight shifts until she could afford to hire people.

So when they had finally happened to cross paths late one night before right before Cloud was set for his next work trip. 

“Heya.” Hearing Tifa’s voice in the dead of night was odd, especially. She was usually busy with the bar or fast asleep from the exhaustion of working all day.  
Just because he kept his space from her, it didn’t mean that he was going to be cold to her. She was the love of his life, after all, and their conversations were always something to look forward to. 

“You’re up late, Lockhart.” Cloud said before going back to securing the package onto the back of his motorcycle. 

"Need something?" He asked.

“I didn’t get to properly thank you for saving me,” Tifa said with a sincerity that Cloud felt he was undeserving of. 

He questioned how she could think that when the injury on her arm was obviously still painful and could have been avoided had Cloud thought up of a better plan.  
But Tifa never saw it in that way or blamed him for what had happened. 

"'Course." Was all he could say. 

After they had watched their friends die, fought a battle that they shouldn’t have been fighting, and almost losing each other, Tifa needed him and she knew that he needed her. It was always the way that their relationship worked and Tifa was unsure as to why things had been so different between them for the past few weeks. 

“Not trying to leave again, are you?” Tifa asked, half-jokingly as she tried to ignore the growing ache in her chest.   
She couldn’t fathom losing him again not so soon after he just came back.

His stare lingered on her for only a moment and then quickly back down to the dirt floor under them. The thick, raised healing wound on her shoulder was an unwelcome reminder to Cloud of his failure as her protector.   
Tifa never blamed him for her what happened, but he did enough for the both of them. 

“It’s part of the job. Shouldn’t be gone for too long.” 

She held her expectations a little too high for how life would be after their lives went back to normal. She had thought (with good reason) that she and Cloud would finally become a couple and not just the subject of their friends’ constant teasing or questions.  
If she had to hear, “You guys aren’t dating?” Or “You two would make such a cute couple!” again, she would probably snap.  
She had thought she had made it blatantly obvious through their longing glances and inside jokes that she saw him more as a friend.   
Still, the last thing that she wanted was to push him into anything that he didn’t want to be a part of. Besides it wasn’t like she hadn’t suppressed her feelings about him for all those years he was gone. She had done it before and she could do it again if she had to.  
She would rather have him as a friend then nothing at all.

“I should hope so." She said after a silence between them that lasted for a moment too long.

"You have a promise to keep and I intend on holding you to it.” She finished with the best cheery voice that she could come up with, despite the wave of sadness that crashed upon her.

Cloud seldom found himself dumbfounded, but he truly didn’t understand why Tifa would still want him around. It was clearly obvious that he couldn’t protect her and after all, isn’t that what she wanted him to be?

Regardless, he wouldn’t disappoint her any more than he probably already had. He nodded his head once before starting the engine of his motorcycle. 

“Don't worry. I’ll be home before you know it, Lockhart.” 

They said their goodbyes, which was something that Tifa despised doing. She watched as Cloud disappeared behind the city skyline   
She clung on to the hope that when he came back, things would return to normal. 

But fortunately, that never happened.


	2. one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _You're only everything I ever dreamed  
>  Ever dreamed of, ever dreamed of  
> You must be kidding me, did you really think  
> I could say no_
> 
> _-Don't Think Twice, Utada Hikaru_

The sun beat down on the nape of Cloud’s neck as drove through the dirt roads that bordered Edge, just a tad bit over the speed limit. 

After a weeks worth of hard work all he wanted to do was get home, plant a kiss on Tifa’s lips and fall asleep next to her. 

A faint semblance of a smile tugged on the corner of his lips as he turned the doorknob to their shared apartment, awaiting to hear her familiar voice call his name. 

Nothing he had ever been through before could prepare him for the sight that greeted him. 

There lay his wife, bloodied and lifeless.  
He stumbled over himself as he ran to her side, carefully picking her up and scanning the area in hopes of some kind of explanation.

He called her name over and over, begging for an answer as tears relentlessly rolled down his cheek.

After everything he had promised her, that he would protect her, he had failed. 

Again.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
When Cloud awoke with a gasp and beads of sweat dripping down the temple of his forehead he was relieved, to say the least.

Nightmares had become a norm for him as much as lacing up his boots and going for a walk to calm his nerves after one.  
The spring air was a refreshing change of pace that seemed to be somewhat of a way to ease his thoughts. 

Cloud was unaware of how much of a light sleeper Tifa was until he had moved next door to her. Even the slightest noise could wake her if he wasn’t careful. 

So when he closed his door behind him a little too loudly, he froze as her door opened with a loud creak. 

Her waist-length hair was wrapped into a messy bun that sat atop of her head and her grey sweatshirt was a frumpy mess, but she still managed to take his breath away. 

“Cloud, It’s one in the morning. Why are you still up?” her voice was still groggy and she was still half asleep, but she had gotten fairly used to finding her best friend wandering about at random hours of the night.

His stare shot down to his shuffling boots, racking his mind for an answer that would suffice for the bartender that wouldn’t make her worry, although she was already slightly concerned. This was hardly the first time that she had found him like this.

But she had just begun to get settled into the normalcy of her new life. All she would do is worry herself to death if he were to tell her the truth about his recurring nightmares. 

“Let me guess: it’s a SOLDIER thing.” Tifa said with a smirk that shouldn’t have been so damn adorable as it was for someone mocking him.   
He probably would have come up with some witty remark had he been in the right state of mind.  
Instead, he chose to stay silent which worried her even more than she let on. 

As she reached out to comfort him, the scar on her shoulder served as a reminder of his failure to protect her. It was a miracle that there were no lasting injuries that came with her gunshot. 

It had always caught him off guard, even though she had asked him the same thing almost every day and his answer stayed the same. 

“Are you okay, Cloud?” Tifa asked.

Silence. 

“Why wouldn’t I be?” He finally answered as he turned to face her properly. 

_Because you’re not._ She thought to herself.

He could feel her eyes boring into his back as he kept his gaze down to the floor, fully knowing that he was lying to her and it infuriated her.

It was clear to Tifa that what they had been through was still affecting him greatly, despite his reluctance to be honest with her.  
She could see it in the way he excluded himself out of their friends’ plans or in the long drives he would take on his motorcycle with days of no contact.  
Still, she wanted to give him the time that he needed to adjust. 

Her heart sank to the pit of her stomach when she realized how tired he looked. Had he always had those dark circles under his eyes and the slight drag of his eyelids?

“Good night, Tifa.” He said with a tone of finality in his voice.

She parted her lips searching for the words she should say, but came up empty.  
Before she could, he closed the door behind him and left her alone.

And maybe that was for the best, Cloud thought to himself as he failed in his attempts to get some rest.

Death was all around him and he would be damned if he would lose yet another person he loved.

Especially the one person that he loved more than anything.

He waited until the sun had slowly started to peek over the Edge skyline to hop onto his motorcycle and drive until he was far and away, his guilty conscience and thoughts the only company he brought along. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
Back in a few days.  
Don’t worry about me .

Tifa shook her head at the nonchalance of his sloppily written note that he’d so carefully slid under her door while she was asleep. 

Notes like this took place of what their friendship used to be for the past few months.  
It was far from what she had daydreamed what their lives would be like after they had returned to somewhat normal lives. 

“T?” Yuffie waved her hand in front of her face, bringing her attention back to the present and asking where to place the decorations for her birthday dinner.

She was slightly embarrassed at the fact that she wasn’t giving her visitor her undivided attention. After all, she was the one who had asked her over to help prepare for her birthday dinner (That Yuffie herself had planned).

Yuffie had become a confidant to her and always offered an ear to the girls’ ever growing worries.  
She reminded her of Jessie in that sense. Well, that and the fact that she always somehow managed to be the life of the party, even if there wasn’t one. 

She was quick to catch on to Tifa’s feelings towards her best friend and she loved nothing more than to stick her nose into her business whenever she could.

When she had to call for the bartender’s attention yet again, there was no choice but for her to put the rest of the decorations she had bought,’placed her hands on her hips and asked under a raised brow what was on her mind. 

Tifa placed the silver ware that she had brought out into her kitchen counter and handed the note to the ninja.

“I think it’s just Cloud being Cloud...” Yuffie shrugged, handing her the note.

As much as Tifa wanted to shake her head in protest and tell her that she was wrong, that Cloud would never leave her hanging the way he had been for the past year, it would fall on deaf ears.

While Yuffie knew him as Cloud the pessimistic and mopey cynic, Tifa knew him as the caring and loyal man he had grown to be.  
In hindsight, it was pointless asking her what her opinion was. The only person who knew Cloud for who he truly was was Tifa herself. 

She spent the afternoon catching up with Yuffie and attempting to push her worries to the back of her mind and focus on the upcoming weekend celebration.

Even when they were apart, Cloud had never missed a birthday of hers. He would send her a letter that simply said, ‘Happy Birthday, Lockhart’. He had probably thought it wasn’t much but to her, it was the one thing she look forward too every year. 

She slowly let go of the fading hope that she would finally be able to celebrate with him as she began to hang up decorations in her apartment. 

Despite the fact that she would be surrounded by all of their friends, this was already the loneliest birthday she’s ever had.  
____  
May 2, 11:59 on the dot.

When Cloud finally returned from days being away, the first thing that he had planned to do was greet Tifa a happy birthday and hand her her bouquet of yellow lilies that he had gotten on the way home. 

Even though he knew that the best thing for her was to keep his distance from her, he couldn’t completely skip out on her birthday.  
He had bought her yellow lilies that were carefully tied together an obnoxious white bow and placed in a gaudy white vase. It wasn’t much, but it was what he could afford on a delivery man’s salary.  
He had planned to leave it on her doorstep with a note that said, ‘Happy birthday, Lockhart’ and be done with it.

Cloud had begun to wonder if the girl had some kind of supersonic hearing that he was impervious too. Right when he had placed it onto her doormat, the sound of the knob turning made the ex-mercenary jump back into a standing position. 

She donned a new dress that was just a shade lighter than her scarlet eyes that met his mako-infused ones in a wide-eyed stare. It was as if she’d seen a ghost, which might as well have been the case as this might have been the most she had seen of him in the past year.

Her dress swayed along with the breeze as she greeted Cloud which came out more as a question then anything else.  
Even if he was only wearing a white t-shirt and black pants, she was still in awe at how attractive he was to her. 

"Er, just dropping off your present.” He shook his head, bringing his attention back to the current moment.

Tifa couldn’t help but smile at the fact that even after all these years, he still remembered something as seemingly insignificant as what her favorite flower was. 

She hooked her unscathed arm around his neck and pulled him in for a tight embrace that the both of them needed. Cloud let out a slight gasp, missing the feeling of being this close to her.

It was a feeling that he could get used to and one that he wanted to familiarize himself with.  
As quickly as it came, it was slowly consumed with the fear that usually followed whenever he’d allowed himself to get near to her. 

_Don’t let her get too close.  
You’ll only get her killed._ His thoughts cried out.

It was only until Tifa called his name again that he had realized she was talking to him.

“Huh?” 

He was fairly surprised that she still showed kindness to him even after everything he had put her through. 

“I said come on in. The gang’s all here!”

As if she couldn’t get any cuter, her dimples made a rare appearance and sent Cloud’s heart into a dizzy mess.

Still, he wasn’t entirely sure if joining her dinner was the best idea; after all, he was still adamant that the best thing to do was to keep his distance. 

But Tifa had already dragged him by the arm before he could protest, with the blonde putting up no fight at all.  
He wondered if she knew how tightly she had him wrapped around her finger to be allowed to do something like that. If it were anyone else, he probably would have punched them square in the face or scared them off with a potentially empty threat.

His breath hitched in his throat when all of their friends’ stares met his.  
Yuffie, Vincent, Cid, Barret and even Red XIII and Cait Sith were able to meet up for her birthday.  
It was as if they were frozen in time. Cloud blinked and then took a small step back so he was slightly hidden behind Tifa.

What if his fears were right?  
What if his friends wanted nothing to do with him? 

After all, he was the one who should’ve been able to bring every single one of their team mates home safe and sound.  
His heart attempted to beat itself out of his chest and his breath hitched in his throat as he thought of something to say. 

The few seconds of silence felt like an eternity. 

“Cloud!” Yuffie shouted at the top of her lungs and greeted him with a bear hug that nearly tackled him to the ground. “I missed you!” 

“Good to see you, soldier boy.” Barret grinned and gave him a hearty pat on the shoulder.

Slowly but surely, the fear that he would be shunned proved itself to be unfounded as he was greeted by everyone with a warmth that he’d missed during his self-isolation.

For the first time in a while, he was actually enjoying himself and not having to worry about anything except having a damn good time.

“A toast to...er....” Cid scratched the top of his head , drunkenly now fumbling for words to finish his toast.  
“New...beginnings!” He said proudly as he swayed back and forth. 

“Or you could toast to the birthday girl...” a clearly still too sober Cloud arches an eyebrow as every single one of their drunk friends drowned out his words with their cheering.  
Tifa let out a laugh that made Cloud’s heart skip a beat. 

Maybe things were slowly going back to normal between them, Tifa thought to herself as the two shared a glance that their other friends were impervious too.

“Drink up, soldier boy!” Barret slammed two shot glasses onto the wooden counter top in front of the bartender and the ex-mercenary, making them both slightly jump. 

“You too, Tifa!”

Up until that moment, she hadn’t consumed any alcohol besides a glass of beer and a Cosmo Canyon and she didn’t really intend too either.  
But her friends relentlessly cheering her name put her in a spot where she couldn’t refuse.  
She gave a knowing look to Cloud, who shrugged it off.

She was quick to grab the bottle from the top of her refrigerator and pour a golden liquid neatly into two shot glasses that reeked of inebriation. 

She smoothly slid the glass across her wooden counter and effortlessly into Cloud’s grip.

“Bottoms up, Lockhart.” He raised his glass to her before throwing down the liquid almost simultaneously with the Tifa.

She squirmed at the burning sensation of the alcohol going down her throat. Cloud hissed at the initial contact as he swallowed the drink.

They shared a look of complete disgust that was synchronous with each other as Cid handed them another set of shots. 

This was going to be a long night.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

One by one, their friends left by foot or taxi leaving the two to clean up the unruly mess that they had left in their drunken stupor.  
It beat having to drive a way too drunk Cid home. He felt for the poor taxi driver who had to carry that burden.

The two had sat themselves across from each other at her dining table talking non-stop about everything and anything, catching up on time that they’ve missed together. 

Tifa couldn’t help but think that this was how it should’ve always been; quiet, peaceful and uneventful days spent with the boy who seemed to always had her heart. 

The earnest smile that she usually had on faded into a slight frown that only Cloud would have been able to notice.

“Something wrong?”

Tifa shook her head, leaning back into her chair.

“It’s just been so long since we’ve talked like this.” 

The fact that once he left, he would probably give her the cold shoulder treatment again was enough to pull at the growing ache in her chest.

Cloud was admittedly a bit hurt by her words. 

Everything he had ever done was with her best interest in mind, even if it didn’t seem like it. He had been so busy trying to protect her from whatever it was that followed him that he hadn’t even realized how it would have affected her.

But It was for her own good. It was to protect her which was what he promised to do and he would see it through even at the cost of his own happiness. 

“I know.” He finally said, the disappointment apparent in his low voice.  
He fiddled with the shot glass that was in his grasp, unsure of what to say to make things better. 

“I missed this.” She finally gained the courage to look and face him properly. 

“I missed you.” Cloud said, undoing all the work he had done to distance himself from her.  
He had come to terms with the fact that perhaps this was impossible.  
Tifa was a part of him, wired in his DNA and forever holding a piece of his heart.

Every moment between them has led up to this particularly inevitable one, no matter how hard he tried to push her away.  
Every glance that lingered a moment too long, every inside joke, every time they comforted each other led up to this.

Maybe it was the alcohol that had tapped into the both of their desires. Maybe it was just a  
long time coming  
But it was safe to say that Tifa took a leap of faith when she decided to lean in closer in an attempt press her lips onto his.  
While she was well aware that they were each other as best friends, but she had always wanted more than that.  
There was always something in the way: Cloud leaving for his training.  
Then AVALANCHE duties.  
Then saving the world.

Their foreheads touched as he cupped her face in his gloved hands, breathing each other in. 

If only she had known how badly he wanted the same thing for them. To be able to come home to her every day and complain about mundane things, like how bad traffic was or the weather. To be able to hold her and kiss her every single day for the rest of his life.  
It’s what he had always hoped to have after he came back from his training.  
But now that the possibility of it all was real, his fears came rushing back to flood his mind with doubts and anxieties.

Who was to say that nothing like the attack on Sector 7 wouldn’t ever happen? Or Sephiroth coming back and threatening his happiness?

As the thought lingered in his mind more and more, his heart began to race as he recalled almost losing her and carrying a bloodied Tifa to Highwind. 

Just as their lips were about to touch, Cloud came to his senses and pulled away much to Tifa’s confusion. 

“I should go.”


End file.
